Energy Performance Certificates in Welling

Common property types

• 1930s semi-detached houses — The backbone of Welling's housing stock, found on streets around Welling High Street, Hook Lane, and Bellegrove Road. These cavity wall properties have pitched roofs with loft spaces and typically three bedrooms. Many feature period additions like conservatories. Despite being straightforward candidates for cavity wall insulation, a significant number have never had the treatment. Original heating systems have usually been replaced, but older boilers and inadequate loft insulation remain common issues on EPC assessments.
• Postwar council housing — The 1950s and 1960s brought estates of semi-detached and terraced houses to Welling. This stock is variable in condition and energy performance. Some properties have benefited from improvement programmes — new boilers, insulation, double glazing — while others retain original features that score poorly, including storage heaters and minimal loft insulation. Economy 7 storage heaters score particularly badly in RDSAP assessments compared to gas central heating.
• Interwar terraces and bungalows — Smaller pockets of Welling contain Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses and bungalows from the 1920s-30s. These solid-wall and early cavity properties typically score E or F without improvement work. Bungalows tend to be easier to insulate — single-storey heat loss calculations and straightforward loft access — compared to multi-storey terraces.
• Converted flats above shops — Along Welling High Street and Bellegrove Road, there are flats above commercial premises. These often have electric heating, poor insulation between the shop and flat, and limited options for improvement due to shared walls and lack of loft access.
• Ex-council maisonettes — Two-storey maisonettes on the postwar estates are common in Welling. These have their own front doors but share walls with neighbours above and below. Heating type and insulation vary widely depending on whether the property has been through a council improvement programme.
• Modern developments near Abbey Wood — Closer to the SE18 boundary, newer flats and houses have been built to current building regulations and typically achieve C or B ratings. These rarely need significant improvement work to meet modern rental or sale requirements.

Typical EPC issues we find in Welling

• Unfilled cavity walls in 1930s semis — Like many 1930s suburbs, Welling's semi-detached houses have cavity walls that are straightforward candidates for insulation but often have never been treated. Cavity fill appears as a recommendation on a high proportion of our assessments in this area.
• Storage heaters in council stock — Economy 7 storage heaters are common in postwar council estates and score poorly in RDSAP assessments compared to mains gas central heating. Converting to a gas or air source heat pump system is often the highest-impact improvement available.
• Older boilers — Pre-2005 boilers in interwar and postwar stock are significantly less efficient than modern condensing models. Upgrading to a modern A-rated boiler is frequently the most impactful single recommendation on many assessments.
• Single glazing in older terraces — Some Victorian and Edwardian terraces near the town centre still have original single-glazed windows. Replacing with double glazing improves both the EPC score and comfort, particularly in properties with solid walls where wall insulation options are limited.
• Flat roof extensions — Rear kitchen extensions with flat roofs are common on 1930s semis in Welling. These flat roofs are often poorly insulated and a significant source of heat loss. Insulating above or below the flat roof is a straightforward improvement.